Through the first 13 days of the season, Bryant leads the league in both field goal attempts per game (23.1) and per minute (0.65), despite playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist that he numbs with an injection before every game, and despite having some pretty talented teammates.

He’s always been an unrepentant gunner, but he’s practically melting the barrel this season. He’s taken 71 more shots than his next shootingest teammate, Pau Gasol. He’s averaging almost 30 shots a game this month. Bryant believes in shot selection. He selects them all.

Unfortunately, he’s making fewer of them. He went 6-for-28 the other night. For the season, he’s hit only 41.7 percent. Entering Thursday, that tied him for 214th in the league.

And he doesn’t care.

Through Friday, Bryant leads the league with a usage rate (percentage of his team’s possessions that he uses when he’s on the floor) of 36.1 percent. And though Bryant is now 33 years old, his usage rate has climbed in each of the last four seasons. Last season, he led the league at 33.0 percent.

But that doesn’t mean that Bryant’s a total ball hog. Assists count toward usage rate, and Bryant is averaging almost six assists per game, the third-highest mark of his 16 seasons. Among the top 10 players in usage rate, four have a lower assist rate than Bryant, who has recorded assists on 15.8 percent of his possessions. Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are among the four.

The problem is that, as Bryant’s usage rate has risen over the last five seasons, his scoring efficiency has dropped. He ranks fifth in true shooting percentage among the group above, but just 77th among the 151 players who have attempted at least 50 shots this season. Among the 76 guys ahead of him are teammates Pau Gasol (61.0 percent) and Andrew Bynum (57.4 percent).

And this season, Bryant’s effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage are the lowest of his career.

Kobe Bryant’s last five seasons

Season

MIN

FGM

FGA

FG%

eFG%

TS%

Usage Rate

ASTRatio

2007-08

3192

775

1690

45.9%

50.3%

57.6%

29.2%

16.2

2008-09

2961

800

1712

46.7%

50.2%

56.1%

30.2%

15.5

2009-10

2836

716

1569

45.6%

48.8%

54.5%

30.3%

15.2

2010-11

2778

740

1639

45.1%

48.7%

54.8%

33.0%

15.4

2011-12

322

91

208

43.8%

45.7%

52.1%

36.1%

15.8

A look at the shots Bryant is taking reveals that he’s getting to the rim less and less as the years go by. His free throw rate has remained pretty constant (about 35 free throw attempts for every 100 shots from the field) and he’s getting into the paint, but just not all the way to the basket.

With Bryant’s decreased efficiency, it’s valid to wonder if the Lakers should be running their new offense more through their big men. But Bryant is still the franchise player in L.A. and he isn’t changing his stripes.

“I’ll try to make the good play, the good pass, kick it out when my teammates are open, but I’m a scorer first,” he told Reilly.

Bryant certainly gets tunnel vision at times, and we often see his teammates standing around as he looks for his shot. But there are also times when Bryant can be a brilliant passer, as evidenced by this pretty feed out of the post to a cutting Gasol on Friday…

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or this slick drive-and-dish to Bynum…

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Last season, the Lakers were 33-9 and scored 108.9 points per 100 possessions in games when Bryant had an assist ratio of 15.0 or better. They were 24-16 and scored 106.8 points per 100 possessions in games when his assist ratio was below 15. Either way, L.A. was a much better offensive team when Bryant was on the floor (110.5) than when he was on the bench (101.7).

This season, the difference is still big, but the numbers are lower (103.5 with Bryant on the floor and 94.7 with him on the bench).

Offensive efficiency is down across the league, but the Lakers currently rank 13th at 101.4 points per 100 possessions. If they were to remain there, it would be their lowest offensive ranking since 1994.

They’re only nine games into their 66 game-season, of course. And the numbers will certainly change over the next 3 1/2 months. But it would only help if the tunnel vision became a thing of the past and Bryant brought more balance to the Lakers’ offense.

177 Comments

C’mon guys it’s too early to make any statements on who will be the champion. Regular season is just for stats,for a player to look good coming in to the playoffs.Now there is where it’s gonna get really serious.

He does shoot the most and its pretty cool how he gets paid the most to do it. To keep things in perspective he’s one of the greatest ever to play the game and at 33 he’s still regarded by his peers as one of the best to play the game today. Truth of the matter is it doesn’t really matter what we think, its funny to see how some people react though, very interesting

There is no doubt that Kobe is a great player. This year has only just begun, however Kobe seems to be turning the ball over more often and also taking more “bad” shots.
Gasol is not being utilized enough, and Kobe is demanding the ball too much these last few games. However if he takes a controlled jump shot or good move to the basket he can shoot all day. Its his poor decisions and forced shots that bring the teamates moral down as well as the fans

I think it’s Kobe’s greatness that deminishes his performance. People are so used to seeing him dominate that when he has a bad game it’s like he’s Smush Parker or somethin. Bottom line is, he’s gonna go down as one of the best NBA players to play the game. LEGEND

Kobe has to shoot as much as he does! Hell, that is his job. He will be a facilitator when the others learn to move with him instead of standing around. The Lakers will learn that quickly enough to emerge from the WEST. Yes that will surprise everybody, especially the haters…

i love it how when people mention Kobe they always have to mention Lebron James… Ignorant people. Lebron is better all around, Kobe is far better shooter fact. i bet you if Lakers proposed trade kobe for Lebron fans would ask for that trade immediately, shows how loyal LA fans are… bunch of bandwagons I’d Say!!!!!!!

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. The Mamba shoots: first and foremost because he is a SHOOTING guard; secondly because the “bigs” tend to set up on the weakside of the offense or in Gasol’s case- set up at the high post; and lastly the Black Mamba shoots at such a high frequency because he gets the JOB done.
Even though the Lakeshow doesn’t run the triangle anymore; only Derek and Kobe flash to viable points of attack in rhythmn while setting up on offense. Pau and Brews points mostly come as a result of KB/DF’s actions. Period. Tell Gasol to STOP setting screens at the 3 point arc; Brew to set-up on the STRONG side and back his man under the rim– and ta–dahhhh- the bigs will get FED. Otherwise, the Mamba will TAKE shots and MAKE shots (TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND POINTS and counting).

It appears you have no other interesting stories to write and so u concentrate on what sells . KOBE BRYANT. You should concentrate on other players who have not won rings, and ar good but still unproven and see how that makes for reading with appeal.

I think the media is making too big a deal of Kobe’s shooting. He’s always had streaks where he took more shots than neccesary. Its been just 10 games and he’s picked up his shooting percentage lately. The reason his FG% has been in the mid 40’s for his career is the fact that he steps out to the 3-point line. Kobe’s had one of the best figures from 10-15 feet from the basket in the last few years. In fact he shot about 51% from 10-15 feet last year and is shooting 52% this year, he is also shooting 50% from 16-23 feet, but inexplicably he is shooting just 27% from 3-9 feet . And 30% from 3-pt range, he takes contested 3’s (Hoopdata.com). I think the media is over reacting and Kobe’s only going to play better as he learns Mike Brown’s new offense. Kobe can play ball, I will admit he does force the issue in the 4th quarter and should use his teammates more. The Lakers have looked a lot better the last few games. Kobe should follow on what LeBron and Wade are doing by abandoning the 3PT shot, the lowest percentage shot in basketball, especially contested. Leave the 3PT shooting to the specialists who do just that i.e. Kapono, James Jones. If you’re a player with the Offensive skill set of a Melo, LeBron, Wade or Kobe you should focus more on getting to the rim and distributing the ball, which LeBron and Wade do very often. Kobe should stick to the post game, Kobe from the post is as good an option as any in this league and he’s the best guard on the post period. Mike Brown should look into running some plays with Kobe in the Post when one of the big men is on the bench.

I think the media is making too big a deal of Kobe’s shooting. He’s always had streaks where he took more shots than neccesary. Its been just 10 games and he’s picked up his shooting percentage lately. The reason his FG% has been in the mid 40’s for his career is the fact that he steps out to the 3-point line. Kobe’s had one of the best figures from 10-15 feet from the basket in the last few years. In fact he shot about 51% from 10-15 feet last year (Hoopsmedia.com). I think the media is over reacting and Kobe’s only going to play better as he learns Mike Brown’s new offense. Kobe can play ball, I will admit he does force the issue in the 4th quarter and should use his teammates more.. The Lakers have looked a lot better the last few games. Kobe shuld follow on what LeBron and Wade are doing by abandoning the 3PT shot. If you’re a player with the Offensive skill set of a Melo, LeBron, Wade or Kobe you should focus more on getting to the rim and distributing the ball, which LeBron and Wade do very oftenand Kobe should do more often. Kobe from the post is a good an option as any in this league and he’s the best guard on the post period.

If a player shoots alot and keeps doing it games after games then it mean something. The player must be good. You don’t find benc player shoot a lot. You don’t see Luke Walton shoots alot because he’s not as great as Kobe. So if Kobe shoots alot it’s because he is a great player. So keep shooting Kobe as many as 50x per game.

I wish people would give more credit to pau. people act like hes not a star anymore but its just because hes not getting enough shots because of kobe. too many times pau and bynum have played a game shooting well over 50% percent sometimes even 60% yet they are limited to 12 shots each, while kobe has shot about 40% and taken 25+ shots. its simple, you cant have someone who is shooting such a good percentage to have so few shots. its almost like kobe looks to take difficult fall away shots he never just settles for easy shots. although i also think that while teammates must go nuts because he is a ball hog and searches to find the hardest shot to take thats also why he is great.

Didn’t Bynum just have 29 points the other night. Can you tell me why? I can, because he ran the floor and work hard and got good positions in the half court set. I so tired of hearing about how Kobe should get the ball to Bynum and Gasol more. When they run the floor and work hard for good positions in the paint they get the ball 95% of the time. If they are not willing to run the floor and work hard for good positions in the half court sets they don’t need the ball. Kobe dont care what the writers write about how many shots he takes because he playing for Championship no. 6. If he have to take 30 shots a game then I say take them. Its not his job to make his teammates better its their job. The guy has been playing hurt for the last 4 or 5 seasons and yet he make no excuses about any thing. So all you Lakers and Kobe haters keep hating because Lebron and Dwade aint getting one this year. Keep doing your thang Kobe. No. 24 the best in the world…

I can watch stars like LeBron, Dwight, KD, Rose, Wade, K-Love and think “wow” when they have their hands on the pumpkin.

Watching Kobe Bryant, IMO, is like watching Seinfield. I tried to buy into the hype years ago, but at the end of the day, it’s only on my TV while I cook dinner until a better, younger show comes on that I can enjoy…

Kobe can score, but brings down the players around him. The Lakers would be tough to beat if they replaced him…

Lakes need to trade derek fisher immediately 4 him mitch should try and get steve nash …. with nash on the floor i think lakers offense will go to another level … they dont have to trade paul neither bynum …. all lakers need is a good point guard … they have never had a gud point point guard now its the time 4 a change …. the way kobe is playing i think he is the best player in the league, apart 4 couple off games in between coz of his injuries … but kobe did the right thing by taking that many shots coz he is a shooting guard and thats what a shooting guard is suppose to do …. the way he is playing i think he will be the scoring champ this season and if gets some help from mitch by getting a gud point guard lakers will be most lethal team a team to beat ….. get a gud point guard mitch

Kobe is a great player. He may be a ball hog and all these negative things people are saying about him, but at the end of the day he plays a hard game. He’s a strong player and hard player and every play he makes says the same. Keep up the great work Kobe!

Hey Mike Brown, how about you shut up, I got this.. Gimme the ball, Tell these bitches, Andrew and Pau to gimme the ball, I got this.. Clang, Lakers lose, Wack Mumba.. Same old story The ‘Black hole’ Mumba

Yes Kobe shoots too much. If the offense has broken down then give it to your best player and let him try to create a shot. But when Bynum has a seal on his man and is standing 2 feet from the rim you don’t shoot a contested 3 point shot. It’s shots like those that have raised this question. I give Kobe credit for trying to carry the team on his shoulders, I just don’t think he needs to yet. When Bynum’s knee fails on him then he can play the hero.

Its too soon to blame Mike Brown. The mistake the Lakers made was going after Chris Paul. Not a good fit with Kobe and in the end it cost them Lamar Odom. I think they are missing him a lot right now. Still, 10 games in and a 6-4 record is hardly terrible. If by way of a miracle Bynum stays healthy they’ll be OK. If not then I think we are looking at the post-Shaq/pre-Gasol Lakers where its Kobe vs. the opposition. Only he’s older and more banged up so the results won’t be as good.

Kobe has been in the league for 16 years, all with the Lakers. Not to mention that he is the highest paid player in the NBA with 5 titles under his belt. He make shots no other player could make better yet, can even take. Sorry haters, but he’s smooth with it. Kobe is a competitor that will do anything to win. They are only 10 games into the season with a winning record. WE have yet to see better games. Just watch greatness and learn. What other player in the league would you rather teach you how to win championships?

Why can’t we say good things to his man? He is one of the reasons why we still watch NBA. He has been giving us entertainment for the last 15 years of his life and yet what he did is not good enough. He plays though he is injured. His marriage is on trial and yet he still puts his best in every play. Who do you expect to shoulder all the pressure to win every single game? Gasol? Bynum? Fisher? Bryant? Will it not be KOBE? The Lakers has new coach traded some of their teammates/ friends what do you expect? Maybe we are the problem we expect to much from him forgetting the fact that Kobe now is different from who he was when we first saw him 15 years ago.

I have Watched this Season First games of the lakeres And i have to Say Kobe Does hog the Ball he feels that He should carry the whole team on his back Because his Co-captain has Gone old and Started to lose His talent And the big men Bynum and Gasol are Not in a good ship Every time So he can’t Rely on them every time and take those shots
and Kobe always takes hard Shots Plus that torn ligament in his right wrist makes His Shot Percentage Drop If he goes to the paint And take easy shots like Lebron Does i think It’s Going to be an other talk here I’m not saying he should Shot All by him Self I’m saying his teammates Should Work a little Hard So that the Team looks Good and make Him take less shots

Just reading these blogs and waiting on someone to speak with some merit, but oh well. Every writer from the nba seem to put a slant on everything that has to do with the lakers. Their this, their that, or they ain’t this or they ain’t that. Do #24 shoot to much? The man does whats needed, period. Even teammates #17 and #16 which happen to be the most talented front court in the world both said they were exausted and flat in the middle of that back 2 back. #24 said hey, I know everyone’s fatigue right now, don’t worry, I got us tonight! That’s his job as the head of the best freaking franchise in the world. The man not only play through injuries that would put most players in street clothes, but at a level still higher. Thats the freaking difference between #24 and normal humans. So talk to me at the 25 game mark!!

PEOPLE are always going to be critical of Kobe Bryant “Shooting Too Much!”, but the bottom line is – he produces results in the very end (5 RINGS & 7 FINALS APPEARANCES) All from the Western Conference – which was the toughest of the two.

FACT: Kobe & Fisher have the MOST NBA FINALS APPEARANCES today! (More than Jordan, as well)

I’m a Bulls/Lakers fan because I Phil Jackson, really miss the Zen Master, the league really played him last season, BEST WISHES to him, LAKERS are in trouble, I repeat, they are in trouble, D Fish cannot keep up with the league quicker and faster PG’s, he been getting burned a lot, he can still produce, however other teams PG’s have been killing the LAKER defense at will, Mitch Kupchak, listen me brethren, you need to call the Magic asap, tell them they can have Gasol, Bynum,

Andrew wants to play on a team where he’s the man, and Pau just doesn’t want that pressure on him to compete for another Championship, just look @ his body language on the court, no vision, lack of ambition, SO WACK as Jay Z would say, love Pau but he’s not motivated anymore like Dirk in Dallas, some players are like that, one and done, or in Pau’s sake, two and out, if the Lakers can get Dwight, and I hope D12 reads this blog…lol,

I feel so bad for this guy but it was mentioned earler, work on bringing in Steve Nash, I couldn’t stand him back when he won the MVP twice felt Battie Battie Battie (Jason Kidd) was robbed, he lead the Nets to two NBA Finals appearances and had more triple doubles per game than Nash and he didn’t get nothing, DA Bean(Know he looks like a pie Bryant) also was robbed, dude scored 81 in a game, come on, no rewards for that, guess if any player has a high scoring game like that, in the NBA, really doesn’t mean that much, I guess, anyway,

Nash you little Hoser, like Don Nelson cld him in that commercial…lol…you grew on me, you DESERVE a championship, you DESERVE it man, your loyalty to the Suns is truly awesome, I admire that, not like LBJ, not an LBJ hater or anything, felt he was a free agent and he could go anywhere he wanted, but to the Heat, even if you win a ring there, its not gonna mean as much as it would have doing it in Cleveland, hope it does for you, that’s why I feel MJ, Barkley even Magic wasn’t feeling your decision, to be a great, you have to beat them, can’t join forces man, however its over now, wish you the best bro,

Nash, Howard, Mitch, you need to sign these guys somehow, if you all want another Championship ring added, then get err done, KOBE needs help, he’s gonna wear himself out if he keeps playing like he has been with that injury to his hand, everyone will be happy, Bynum gets to finally be the Franchise player, Pau will have no more pressure to obtain a ring, Dwight gets his chance to compete for one as well as Nash, and the best part, the season has been shorten, so here’s your chance to sneak in a grab one cause the heat aren’t playing no games right now, they got some descent bench pieces now and there attack the basket offense is fierce at best, wish my Bulls would try to grab D12 but I don’t think he wants to come here, would be nice though,

NASH(Grant Hill), HOWARD(Turkoglu) LA wants you…lol…Not Uncle Same, LA, come on Laker fans, IT COULD HAPPEN, get pumped up on here, if you know Mitch Kupchak, spread the word, there’s POWER in numbers, time to put on some pressure, Bean needs at least one more ring and with Nash and Howard, he can at least get Two before him and Nash retire, that would be nice wouldn’t it Laker Fans…..BULLS VS LAKERS….2012 NBA FINALS…..FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!

Who is the only coach to have coached both Jordan and Bryant? Phil Jackson. What did Phil have to say about the skill levels of both of them? Basically, he said, Kobe and Michael were evenly matched in skills, etc. For some reason, Michael was in an era where people were a lot less critical, so he was elevated by most to be the best basketball player of all time. He definitely was one of the best. Kobe could also have that same distinction except that people have become more critical than ever before. Quit making the best sport in the world about personalities rather than just enjoy all the great players who work hard to entertain us as fans. Shut up and quit complaining! Just enjoy.

Kobe’s too proud to sit a few games. It doesn’t hurt if he let his team mates play and figure things out on the court all by themselves! It’s still very early in the season, Kobe should allow some of the young guys to play alongside Pau and Fish for them to season and mature. Because come playoff time, Kobe’s gonna need all the help he can get. Yeah, Kobe’s playing really hard right now but he’s not playing really smart! Once he aggravates that wrist, it could be the season for the Lakers. Losses could pile up when Kobe sits for a few games, but once he’s fully healed, a 100% Kobe should propel his team towards the playoffs with the help from, now, a more matured supporting cast. Look at the Spurs now! Coach Pop has done a great job limiting his veterans minutes and letting the second unit play…and its now paying dividends. If it wasn’t for manu’s injury, RJ, Neal and Green wouldn’t have played better. Same goes with Kobe and the Lakers. If somebody wants to achieve something, he has to sacrifice something as well..

Kobe is a “shooting guard” like MJ that shoots a lot. Who cares if he shoots a lot. The 5 championship rings will end this conversation. haha He’s old school, he doesn’t need to be like Lebron, Dwade & Chris Bosh that are bunch of losers that chose to be in one team. haha

Come on people!! The Lakers played only 9 games and there’s a big discussion that Kobe’s getting old, that he’s taking too many shots… Exclude that poor night in Denver with 6 on 28 shooting and Kobe will be 29.2ppg and 47.2% from the field. It takes at least 2 or 3 big games with very high FG % to get your stats on the right track after the games like he had in Denver. But if the Lakers will not increase their 3pt % and will not make some good trades for a younger and faster players (I still can’t deal with letting Ariza and Odom go) they will not have a chance to win the championship…

Kobe’s overshooting isn’t going to sink the Laker’s in terms of the regular season. What his current overshooting does is strain his injured hand, which is going to get worse as the season progresses, and increasingly worse the more he shoots, the problem is Mike Brown is incapable of developing an offensive identity for the team because he coached for Cleveland where their offense was “whatever Lebron wants.”

Come playoff time, Kobe’s shooting hand is going to be in significantly worse shape than it is now, which WILL hurt the team if it begins to affect his shooting.

The Lakers are a much better team when Bynum and Gasol are involved, and they will need to be if the team hopes to make a complete playoff run. Find a way to get the ball inside more, the post presence will allow Kobe to get easier shots from the outside. Kobe will need to LEAD his team to a champion, he won’t be able to CARRY them.

whoa.. his usage rate has risen over the last 5 seasons… anyways, i do think mike brown should create strategems that would make use of the talents that bynum, pau, and other laker player has. I mean, with all those talents in the roster, the lakers can make it to the finals with kobe being the top scorer and decoy..

I can’t believe that we are discussing this topic. The guy has been a ball hog eversince they shipped out Shaq. He boasted about the rings that he did not win by himself. Have you seen the championships he almost lost for the Lakers? But I did not hear/read any comments coming from the fans of this ballhog thanking Ariza for the 3 point shot and steal, the hard work that Pau showed on their last championship run, the 3 point shots of Horry and Fisher. Let us be realistic, he only won championships with these all stars with him. I will bet my bottom dollar that he will not even reach the play offs with what Lebron had with Cleveland, So let us stop this discussion.

This blog is stupid. To the person who started this, can you please name any one from the current Lakers team that can shoot the ball as well as Kobe? Bynum is okay, but if he is going to miss 5 free throw or more in a game, the why bother. Just go and write some thing not so nice about lebron instead for a change why don’t you.

No Kobe does not shoot too much!! Ifhe didn’t the Lakers would probably lose most of the times.. Kobe is a GREAT player and we FANS loves him. FANS don’t really care if others don’t like him or the whole team, but we FANS do..GO LAKERS!!

He should learn from what happened with Allen Iverson… Iverson used to take the same number of shots and it did not work for him. Kobe is getting older and he knows it. Basketball is a team game. Iverson was once one of the best scorer in NBA but age always catches up and its the same with Kobe. He should start to look for his teammates more if he wants to win another championship.

If Kobe didn’t have the 2 bad shooting games on back to back nights this article would have never been written. The lakers needed him to shoot alot last night against the warriors. How come we are not talking about KD’s 2 bad shooting games or Peirce’s bad shooting games? It’s a compressed season with very little practices. Everyone is gonna feel at some point. look at what happen to the bulls when they played the hawks. The lakers by far has had the most difficult schedual.

Because Kobe is great and people are trying their best to discredit that. Maybe they don’t want Kobe to be next to MJ. To me, it doesn’t matter how good or poor his stats will be, Kobe is a great player and it is undeniable. I don’t care if he shoots 100x, I wish he would I enjoy it anyway and so others are.

he’s just padding his stats. yes he wants to win no doubt but he won’t take winning if he’s not amazing in the process. that means he has to average more than 25-26 ppg a game no matter what. tells a lot about what kind of person he is. his priorities are messed up.

Yeah Robert Horry Got More Rings than Kobe And MJ… That also answers the ring comparison… Not all players with many rings is a great player… and F.Y.I. LBJ got a ring now…. but engagement ring only… Someday he will have one… That’s is why He’s leading the Heat on scoring…. Dwade wanted lebron to earn his ring on his own effort….

On Mike Browns case…. He is using LBJ tactic from Cavs…. Like ” Hey Lebron It’s 4th Qtr… Do everything you can…” That was his 4th Qtr. Gumble.. And if that one didn’t worked on a younger LBJ… It might as well not going to work on aging Black Mama….

Revenge is a promise to take…. And it smells so sweet….. So Laker fans…. enjoy your season… And We Hope (Maybe Cough Cough Not Gonna Happen Cough) We could see you in the Finals….. Let’s Go Heat………..

We are talking about a superstar who won a ring…. Horry was not a superstar if only knew. Maybe you don’t so i’m telling you. Superstar like MJ, Kobe, LBJ, Wade, Magic, Bird, Dirk… and so on. Horry is/was not a Superstar. In fact, he should go to D-League.

why are there so many Laker haters?
Shannon Brown needs to come back the Lakers.
Also i wanna challenge Shannon to meet me at the slam dunk contest this all star weekend.
Who is betting on me to win it all?
My best advice to you bet your car! xD

I have read what some people have said on this article. I find it amusing that people would say ‘without bynum’ kobe wouldnt have a ring and without shaq kobe wouldnt have a ring. Basketball is a team game, did you really think kobe would win a game without a good supporting cast? Do you think any superstars would win a ring without a good supporting cast?

Did lebron win a ring in cleveland with the supporting cast he had (Did he win a ring last season with Dwade and CBosh…although this season looks like their season right now)? Did MJ win a ring without pippen? Did Wilt win a ring until he moved to LAL? no they didnt.

However, I do believe that kobe should have a rest, maybe just a few games to heal the wrist or at least let it recover. There’s no point of playing thru so much pain if it’s going to affect your career further a long the track, I mean he has had an awesome career so far (haters you must admit, having won nearly every award possible, you cannot deny Kobe is one of the GOAT). Kobe should have a rest and although I hate to say this, it does not look like there is any chance of LAL winning a ring this season. They lost Odom, they got cock blocked by NBA for CP3….honestly they need another player who can shoot or bring in more defense or distribute the ball. It would be nice to see D12 in LAL but I just can’t see that happening atm.

I might not know everything about basketball but I believe what I said is the truth.

The internet turns everybody into a hater…. its so funny to read all of this.

Nobody ever bashed Michael Jordan’s career for taking just as many shots per game as Kobe is because nobody was blogging or posting about each one of his games like we are about Kobes.

Just let the players do what they do and lets just do what we do as fans. Get pissed when our favorite teams lose and get wasted when our favorite teams win. Unless you can personally do better yourself than its almost pointless to argue about it. Personally, I hate Lebron James but not because I think he sucks but because he’s so darn good he kills my favorite teams.

Moral of the story…. if you have a lot of haters in sports, you know that your doing something right.

He is helping them on the short term but hurting them on the long run. The Lakers need to survive on their own instead of going to kobe all the time. When superstar get injure everyone step up their game and that how team get stronger.

The only reason that people are starting to gang up on Kobe is the Laker’s record. People say that he doesnt allow players like Gasol and Bynum get enough touches; thats just false. Bynum is averaging over 20 ppg thus far this season and Gasol is averaging 17 ppg. Do the critics want them to average over 30 or something? The real problem isn’t Kobe, and frankly it isn’t only Mike Brown’s offense (although it partially is- way too many isolations). The real problem is the bench; it seems like every night the bench is struggling to put up more than 15 points a game, and somebody has to step up since Odom is gone. Let’s be honest, none of us really want World Peace! to shoot the ball, so I think a trade has to be made, not for Dwight Howard or anything, but to improve the bench play.

Finally someone brave enough to speak up. It is very sad and irritating to see how the tv comentators say nothing when they see Briam hurt the Lakers and do not dare to say so. Charles B. and all the rest are such a chicken. If the Lakers want to be a big team again need to start asking Kobe to be a better team player or start keeping him on the bench a little longer. And I am a lakers fan!

There will be no greatest player of all time. coz all the candidates in that list didnt all play at the same time. also rules in the nba changes. long time ago theres no def 3 sec. so bigmans can camp all day on the paint.

I wonder if you would have made the same comments about the number of shots that Jordan used to take back in his days as well as Jordan shooting percentage. Nor to mention that Jordan played through any injuries such as the one Kobe had/have. What about Allen Iverson back in his days. As long as the Lakers are winning then, everyone should just shut it. Unless some else from the Lakers can shoot as well as Kobe then this blog is a waste of time.

After 15 yrs of some of the best BB ever – people are still talking about Kobe is shooting to much,
Please allow me to make this point real clear to “You” people – Jordan shot the ball more than Kobe is doing.

After 16yrs and 5 NBA titles – this guys is still putting people in the seats and is still among the top 5 players in the NBA.
Stop for moment and let that sink in.

If you don’t like the man like the player. Reed, West, Frazier, Walton, Jordan, Kareem, Bird and others played while hurt and provided some of the games best memories – Kobe has done the same thing and has done it repeatedly.

But all “You” people only focus on ; is Kobe shooting to much – He scored 39 point with a bad hand. Diving on the floor for balls; Playing more minutes than the younger guys – and took over the game to help his team win.

How many players after 15yrs of playing has ever played at this high level? Not many 1 or 2 (Kareem and Jordan) come to mind.

Jerry West called Kobe the best he’s ever seen – I don’t agree with Mr. West but I do think he second best of All-time.

And one final note to the media experts writing these blogs….KB doesnt read this garbage. So stop posting bogus stats and blogs while your in the airport waiting for your flight headed to the next city to watch a game for another player you’re going to put down for a paycheck.

Give respect when respect is do. Mamba is one of the greatest of our generation. Spend less time hating and more time appreciating what he’s done for the game before hes gone forever. Media did the samething to MJ for yrs and when he retired abruptly they spent yrs doing damage control and eating their words

Kobe is not overdoing, in fact, he was underdoing (if there is such a word). He needs to score at least 30 pts a night for the Lakers to win. He earns most of his pts at the free-throws and people say he takes too many shots. Funny, no one ever complained when MJ took too many shots…

You see some ppl just get at this point of their career when they can do what ever they want. U know like MJ, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant.. they dont need to prove themselves to nobody. Kobe does what he has to do because he has to. And @33 year old, after 16 seasons or so, he s doing a pretty good job if u ask me.
Besides, if he wasnt doing what hes doing, this article would be called Underdoing it. There is a reason why teams like lakers and heat and OKC are always getting kicked while they’re down – cause they r good.

If anyone noticed, Kobe is one of the 2 best players in the league, and he always manages to pull Lakers out of a bad time. Who cares about the coach!!! Its more about the players you have. Kobe has just had a bad time. Its not like his whole career will go to waste because of this small thing.

that’s how popular this guy KOBE is and SCHUMANN did not even play the game how the hell does he know how to use all those statistics using the stat cube. a lot of so called fans, experts, analysts and reporters don’t like KOBE reason being he is too successfull at what he do and they are all jealous because their teams or players that they are rooting for are not as successfull as KOBE as simple as that.

you guys don’t get it. SHUMANN is using KOBE as his topic on his article because if he use other players instead of KOBE nobody will read his article and he has to justify his work so his boss won’t fire him, common guys.

This is funny, 9 games into the season to point out that Kobe’s shooting percentage is down less then 2% from his norm, harping on the one 6-for-28 game, that really was not good at all, but good shooters do have bad games (ie, Nowitski in game 6 of the finals last year). Kobe still can take over a game and has done so consistently this year. Lakers have been playing well and lost some very close games to good teams. Bynum missed 4 games and Gasol has been playing a lot of hot potato plus Odom is gone and Metta is playing like garbage with the exception of the 1 game he showed signs of stirring to life only to fall back under.

I guess it is your job to write about stuff. And it’s mine to comment about how useless the stuff is that you write about. Goodnight.

Hey guys remember when Kobe was young he was also a high flyer and didnt not shoot that mant J’s but he got older now and he can make J’s all the time and he has made the hardest jumpers ever.LJ is in his what 9th season and he is still not a jump shooter. so let KOBE do wht HE WANTs.

If you annualized through 66 games the 208 shots he’s already put up through 8 or 9 games it comes out to approx. 1,525(+) shots (an avg. of 23 shots per game) for the regular season this year. Then take that 23 shot avg. and annualize it through 82 games and it comes out to approx. 1,895(+) shots which means Kobe is on pace to put up his highest shooting season yet, granted he doesn’t ware down towards the end of the season. Why do I say so? Well compare the 1,895 # of shots to the stats in the charts shown in the Post for prior 82 game seasons – yep, you get it now? I’m can’t say he’s doing it on purpose, but it would appear Kobe is intentionally shooting so much in an effort to not see his career stats drop off due to a shortened season. That said Kobe gotta mind his shooting percentage, you don’t wanna shoot to the point of it taping off career stat-wise. Remember MJ in 98′ season? His career FG percentage dropped somewhat. Although, he had a good excuse for ramping up on FG attempts as Pippen was out w/ injury for the 1st half of the season.

This article is completely bs!!!! Kobes game is a game changer. He often shoots more when they are playing a run n gun team. How the hell u gonna get Drew to shoot more than Kobe when all his best shots are taking within 2ft from the basket??? This is not the triangle where by the offense moves rapidly to able to involve ur slow center as much. That is the main reason Drew for Dwight would make sense since we already got Pau and Kobe, we need a more defensive-minded center. When Lakers play a slower pace style of play, u can feed Drew all the ball u want but the Lakers offense runs through Kobes makes n misses. This is basketball! You won’t get it if u don’t understand it!

I know its quite early in the season to judge but i really dunno how this offense is gin to work for the lakers. Kobe is literally doing it all out there, and with all due respect he eventually will get worn out either later in the season or by the playoffs. the ideal situation here was to bring a young point guard to handle the ball and also push the tempo for them. However, since that is not scenario we can see happening in the close future, the immediate solution would be the run the offense more through down the block, through Gasol and Bynum. This should take some load off Kobe and let him take some less field goals per night than he takes now.

lebron and dwayne sat out there last game, they st out a few last season also. and as far as lebron’s health is he will pile on more injuries because he cameout of high-school just like kobe so what is happening to kobe will be happening to lebron in the next 2-years

Man, I would love to have an article written about me scoring too many points and winning games. Go pick on someone else John Schuhmann – Lebron and Wade have sat off with injuries not as serious as Kobe’s – and just because hes put more shots up – doesn’t mean its the end of the world or hes “overdoing it” – this is the NBA ? its called trying to win at all costs ? Kobe is clearly shorthanded this year with the loss of many players who have been key to their success – even before Odom. Look at Ariza, Farmar, Shannon Brown, (A missing triangle offense system) could have an impact as to why things are the way they are in LA.

Kobe is amazing , but also a little bit selfish , when he is insecure about the lakers team , and the offense., he’ll try to haandle it as much as possible…
its up to Mike Brown change it , and make the lakers more a team

I find it interesting how bias Schuhman is. His hatred for Kobe seems to be increasing every season. Here is something to think about.

Kobe has had to legitimate bad games this season. Both games were back-to-back against the same team (Denver) in which he shot 6 of 18 and 6 of 28. His field goal percentage is 43.8% this season, which is quite low. I love how everyone starts saying he’s getting old or he’s not the offensive gunner he once was. If you take out his poor shooting weekend against the Denver Kobe’s fg% is at 48.8%. Much higher than his career average of 45%. So why the hate? It’s so easy to manipulate stats to your advantage and make a player seem like he’s playing sub-par.

Stop the hate. It’s only been 9 games. This article was absolutely unnecessary at this point in the season. Schuhman should have waited a few more months before using StatsCube on Kobe’s shooting but I guess he’s dying to make a point that Kobe is getting old.

c’mon maan! Kobe is basically carrying this team on his back, right now the only person who moves of the ball other than Kobe, is Bynum and maybe Gasol on a good day. If he wasn’t taking as many shot you would complain that Kobe is hiding in the spotlight, So before you concern you’re self with how many shots he is taking look at the team around him.

Mistake, he shouldn’t even be playing ball, he’ll regret this down the line coz that wrist is gonna keep getting injured if he doesn’t let it heal properly…it’s not the playoffs, he should show some faith in his teammates that they can get it done without him…

I agree with Ken Higgins. If we are to look at it, the younger Kobe which got to the rim had more and better numbers than depicted by this article. To me, the older a player get, the wiser they ought to get and Kobe got better, wiser and understood that it takes a team to win a championship. I have been a Kobe fan and have read all that the media and basketball fans have to say about him but the dude deserves some credit and more MVP award than NBA and media portray. Most high flyers (early n their career) usually get knee problem later on (just like Kobe) and they have to rely on their shots (just like Kobe) to help their team. Listen to Magic, he wants lebron to work on his post game because Lebron will not always be the high flyer that he is right now. Let Kobe be Kobe and give him some MVP awards lol.

Who else besides Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Kobe, and SOMETIMES Steve Blake can the Lakers rely on getting points from? everyone besides the names above are here one game gone the next! If Kobe was shooting like 10 to fifteen shots a game this blog would be about “WHY ISN’T KOBE SHOOTING MORE?” lol smh. – Kobe, shoot as many shots as necessary. The Lakers would be a lot worse than 5-4 if Kobe wasn’t shooting and we all know this.

Being a volume shooter must be a recipe for winnng championships. It seems to have worked for Mr. Bryant as I can’t think of any recent ball-hog who has played in almost as many Finals as he has played in the NBA (winning enough rings to give one to Charles B., Kevin D., LeBron J. and a few others).

Diving deeply analysis it is obviously. However, I do not agree with comparisons with last 5 seasons.
Firstly, it is a shortened season with 66 games. Although there has to be some correlations between season 11-12 and other past ones, should not be regarded as source of proof.
Secondly, every bball fan especially Lakers’ know that how big the difference between this season and past ones on Lakers’ rosters. This season, Lakers do not have firepower as much as what they had in the past. The easiest solution gotta be letting Mamba shoot more.
Thirdly, appently Andrew improved his game at least so far what I have seen. people including you shout out Bynum and Gasol should shoot more. They only saw from the bright side. It is true that two 7 footers have so much dominance in the paint as well as gunpowers, but people should also notice that when they are on the court, how many transition points opponents made, especially when one of two 7 footers missed their shots.
Other lakers beyond Kobe should get involved more in the offense, I agree with that. But you should also understand from 3 reasons above, Lakers’ games always are like dogfights, no big margin in points. In this situation, everyone should agree that which Laker player should take over the game, as what he did in last 15 years in this league.

Kobe Bryant does need to shoot less HOWEVER acting like he is shooting poorly is ridiculous. KB has been AMAZING this season! I mean he had ONE really bad game that (yes he really should have shot a ton less). But 8 out of 9 games he has been great! If you take away that one bad game he would be shooting 47.2% from the field, which last time I checked is pretty darn good! So, although Kobe should shot less these statistics are off because outside of that one bad game he has been doing really good. Also, we all know that Mike Brown doesn’t have the greatest offense which is another reason the ball is ending up in KB’s hands because when the offense gets stagnant KB is going to take over and take the shoot. Kobe needs to shoot a little less and Lakers need to feed Drew a little more.

Last night Kobe scored 39 pts on 14 of 29. He did this with his torn tendon in his shooting hand. How many NBA players could do this? Plus, his team was severely lacking in energy in the 1st half, so Kobe came out to try and get his team going, which he did. Kobe has to be one of the most underappreciated and over-analyzed NBA player by the media and basketball fans of all time. Lebron, Dwight, Bynum, Pau and even Dwayne get more dunks than Kobe does, which will help their shooting pct, which skews the results of your charts. Why can’t basketball fans everywhere just enjoy Kobe’s basketball skills while he is still playing the game and quit being so negative.

Moving on from the Phil Jackson era and the Triangle to a new coach’s playbook is change enough, and Kobe Bryant and his offense has to remain a constant to ensure the Laker’s aren’t completely lost this season.
And offense almost always seems sporadic for the Lakers when Kobe takes a backseat. So Kobe’s usage rate is actually where it should be.
Efficiency wise, of course the wrist injury is taking a toll on the numbers. The Lakers (and Kobe) though should better navigate their way through this hectic season (and maybe take a page from the Heat’s book). Rest Kobe and give him time to heal. It’s only January. Rather than risk losing his efficiency when it really matters.

I agree that Bryant can become a little bit irritating when he forces things at the end of games (and even not at the end…), BUT shooting efficiency doesn’t tell the whole story : the Lakers are just better with Bryant on the floor. Bryant is such an offensive threat that every player on the opposing team has to adapt. Ask Matt Barnes where his points against the Warriors last night came from. I mean, so many times, when the Lakers gets an easy basket, it’s because Bryant has opened up things, whether with the ball (well, most times) or without it (just replay Barnes lay-ups coming from the weak side and observe how Bryant opens the lane). Bryant is just a game changer, and it doesn’t show in STATSCube or whatever…

I feel like this “kobe shooting too much” this year problem is an overreaction and overstatement. Look at the facts. Yes, he has a huge usage rate and yes he is shooting but we are TOTALLY ignoring the context.
Mike Brown’s offense needs WORK…it utilizes a lot of pick and rolls and requires dribble penetration. Right now, the lakers literally have ONE player who can dribble, penetrate, and create his own shot-KOBE.

Under the triangle, players could get shots in different manners because the of spacing, etc….the role players on the lakers haven’t figured out the proper spacing and movement and so kobe is usually given the ball when the rest of the team can’t figure out what to do and so he is shooting a lot more, but this isn’t because he randomly decided that in his 16th year he wanted to average 25 fgattempts…its bc the offense is in progress and the shift away from the triangle makes it hard for others to score (since aside from bynum, pau and kobe)-the lakers have very few players who are skilled offensively.

Wow someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
This site should have a rating system so we could rate the top comment, that way people who know what they are talking about are RIGHT AT THE TOP.

Kobe needs to realise he is not playing with Kwame Brown, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic and Vladamir Radmonovic every game any more. He has two quality big men to share the scoring load with. If Kobe bites his pride and realises he cannot compete for MVPs anymore and takes on a role similar to Duncan’s in San Antonio, it can only benefit the Lakers. His loss of explosiveness teamed with an abundance of injuries mean he cannot be as effective when the double team comes anymore. Even average defenders can restrict him to taking horrendous shots, with Gasol and Bynum crying for the ball!

Come on Kobe, get the ball to the bigs WHEN DOUBLE-TEAMED! One on one you are still the man!

i think Kobe is doing it to get into the constant shooting mode by the mid season….u have to shoot a lot and at the same time miss a lot in order to get to that constant shooting mode….after all its Kobe and no matter what team he plays for they dont mind him taking any shot he wants….

The same is true now as has always been true: you have to earn a shot from Kobe. Love him, hate him, if you’re a teammate and you run the floor, hustle and work, Kobe will give you the ball in a great situation. He doesn’t abide laziness. Do you know what else the people on that list have in common? Carmelo, Lebron, Durant, etc? They have 0 rings. The whole list combined has 0 championships. Kobe’s got 5. Keep shooting Kobe. They don’t get it. John Schuhmann doesn’t get it. Charles Barkley doesn’t get it. They don’t have any rings either.

Great post my friend. I am glad someone else is calling out fat arse Chuck Bark-less. He has always dogged Kobe and his game. Yet the Chuckster has never won a single championship. I hate it that TNT does not cover the Finals. The past few years while Kobe represented the West, going to the Finals (winning a few more rings) we did not have the luxury of hearing the Chuckster run his big trap after Kobe hoists another ring, pop another cold champayne. What what he would have said then?

I hate fans who dissmiss and argument by saying, “well look at the rings”. Every hear of a guy called Robert Horray? How talented is he then compared to Melo, James, Durant and Kobe since he has more rings? FYI, TEAMS win rings, not players and Bryant’s rings are not a measure of how great of an individual player he is…that would be MVPs. In which case you should shut up because he has one which he did not deserve.

What are you even talking about? mvp’s make a great player? so nash…dirk….garnett…are all better than kobe? yeah right! it goes to the best player on the best team! kobe shouldve won it back in 05-06 but was robbed then as well as the season after. yet nash won them. kobe put down historic numbers those 2 seasons and earned no praise for it like he should have. and you sit here and say mvp’s define how great a player is? mvp is a bs award now, its all about the finals mvp and sorry my friend, but lebron has 0, carmelo never seen the finals, durant has yet to, wade has 1 while kobe has 2. finals mvp’s outweigh regular season mvp’s with no comparison. and besides, it takes a knowledgable person to figure out which players took a big part in those championship runs, and obviously kobe worked for all 5 along with shaq and gasol. so go somewhere else with your dumb remarks buddy.

Good point but how come with all the GREAT players you mentioned they haven’t have helped their team win a single championship but Horry did. And FYI, i doubt Shaq would’ve got his 3 rings without Kobe and finaly Kobe deserved all his awards espwcially the 2 Finals MVP.

@Ryan, of course you’re going to say MVPs don’t matter because you can’t talk strongly about them and Kobe. If anything the finals MVP is worthless because that is fan based, the MVP award is decided by coaches and players who actually play the game! Anyhow I don’t care to address anymore of your points. It’s your opinion and I have mine. Fact is that MVP does tell you how good a PLAYER is, and a Championship tells you how good a TEAM is.

@ BelizboyBoy – Agreed! TEAMS win championships so everyone stop going on about Kobe and his rings. Derek Fisher has 5 rings too so therefore according to your system, Derek Fisher is the best point guard of all-time!!! Yeah right! Also @ Chris Brown – Yes Shaq couldn’t have done it without Kobe but also Kobe could DEFINITELY not have done it without Shaq! Shaq won the finals MVPs in the three-peat so he’s the better player! As soon as Shaq left, Kobe couldn’t buy a play-off win, FACT! In my opinion Lebron, Dwight, Durant and D.Rose are the best players in the league and will be top runners for MVP this year. Lebron’s never won a ring because he has nver been a part of the best team. He is now a part of one so should win a title or 5. Oh and bit of facts also; MJ won his first championship at age 28, Lebron has just turned 27. I’m sure they were questioning if MJ would ever win when he was 27 also.

@TOM a little bit of a HUGE FACT!! MJ DID win a championship and was the MVP!! this is when the players were smarter than they are now…Jordan went to North Carolina University and WON the NCAA Championship! YES Jordan entered the NBA 3 years after Lebron and Kobe had entered. So take a look at that Jordan gave these guys a head start and still is greater than both put together (considering Bryant is in the top 10 of all time right now and might improve by the time he retires). So dont say Jordan won his first championship at age 28 and blah blah blah, Wait thats very insulting to even be compared to Jordan when Lebron has not proven anything. Kobe has more credit than Lebron and you still cannot compare them. Shame on you man….AND learn some basketball or learn complete facts before you talk!!

Does Kobe shoot too much? Duh! Ever since Shaq was traded to satify Kobe, the Black Mamba has been a volume shooter.The less help he has, the more he shoots. The fact is that Kobe does NOT make his teammates better. When he has less quality help, he’s less efficient. So, the reality is that quality teammates make Kobe better.

If only you subtracted the 3 points mades&attempts from his shots, you would have realized that the problem was his 3 point shots, not in his overall shoot performance. He has a pretty high 2 point percentage; 55% or so. I also believe that he should not force himself and go through all the pain when he has realiable teammates, In any way, he loves shooting the ball. And there is no one on earth capable of stopping it.

Kobe carries this team..FACT. He’s playing while injured is another excuse although he doesn’t like excuses. He’s a good player wait till he is healed they could see another championship. And in this comment I would like to point out Dwade and LeBron sat out their last game because of minor injuries

LeBron and DWade didn’t play because they didn’t want to take any risks. The Heat can still play fine without them which is something the Lakers can’t do without Kobe. Maybe Kobe should rest a couple games and get the wrist okay because if Kobe gets hurt badly the Lakers won’t propably make the play-offs this year.

You are wrong Lakers will do great without Kobe.First of all we have a great center like Bynum and good bench center like Mcroberts.Second Lakers have good inside shooter like Ebanks and Pau and we have one of the best 3 point shooter which is Steve Blake also Derrick Fisher sometimes.Last lakers has great defenders like Ron Artest and Matt Barnes.

Taking risks blah blah blah, Oh come on would you think the Heat would win if it were against Boston or Thunder? I dont understand Kobe how he plays through those injuries and still compete, but what I dont understand more is those players with minor tweeks use it as an excuse and not play when in comparison its nothing close to what Kobe has. Im tired of this kind of articles where in conclusion it only says I dont like Kobe or I hate him period. Get a life focus on other things more important than Kobe being a ball hog or Kobe taking many shots. Why dont you write an article about Lebron of how can he win a ring because Kobe has done it 5 times with him playing like him, simply pointing out taking HIS shots.

“Bryant believes in shot selection. He selects them all.” haha, how true :D Kobe appears to have this innate belief that if he doesn’t get the job done, nobody will. There’s this desperate need to control the game… if control slips, he might not be able to “will” his team to a win which is what he dreads so much. This “inability to trust others in close games or let others do what he usually does (i.e. to not play at all in a game)” will kill him in the long run, cuz at some point, he won’t be able to do it all by himself the way he sometimes still can nowadays.
I suppose he’ll have to learn at some point that complete control must sometimes be reliquished in order to save your soul and maybe your career.

hurt him in the long run? He has 5 championship and 10plus seasons in the league. I think it is safe to say he has done it for the long run and it has been a benefit. Im just saying. I do think he should use his teammates more though.

Kobe has always taken a lot of shots! That’s his game! Since he has 5 championships under his belt, I don,t think it’s hurt the team overall! There are some isolated games where I’ve thought he took too many shots, but, overall’ look at the success of the team with Kobe aboard! How can you dispute that! Asking Kobe not to shoot is like asking Steve Nash not to distribute the ball!

A good balanced article. Kobe is both a talisman but also a very selfish player. You can tell he feels very insecure about where the Lakers are as a team right now and feels it’s his job to single-handedly change that. The scary thing is though, he often does!

kobe is shooting more because there’s no other player who will work hard to shoot the ball, kobe is trying very hard to win another championship and he needs another team mate that can support kobe and that can bring good offense

When I watch Kobe play I still see him make tough shots so it’s not like he doesn’t have it in him anymore. The problem I see is with the guys around him not moving enough. He draws the defenders to him and his teammates just watch waiting for him to shoot. In their championship seasons they had Brown, Farmar, Ariza, Odom and Gasol being very active on the court. They would constantly cut to the basket; now they just sit back and watch him shoot. I don’t like the Lakers or Bryant but to be fair he is shooting so much because no one is doing what they are supposed to. Oh yeah and Bynum’s knees are going again so running the offense through him more would not be wise.

I know, John fails to mention the last 3 games of 30+ points and in the past 3 games he has shot 40/81… JUST under 50%.. That does not seem too bad to me. As long as he can keep shooting a high percentage we should not worry about how many shots per game he attempts.

Wasn’t this kinda Mike Brown’s coaching strategy in Cleveland give the ball to your superstar and get out of the way. He’ll never win a championship with that kind of coaching but the Lakers can still win a lot of games riding Kobe. Count on Kobe making the needed adjustments though, and with Tyson Chandler no longer in Dallas the West is wide open again.

heres the difference, #1 there was never a whole lot of talent on cleveland, they didnt have other allstarts like the lakers do with Pau and now bynum whos having a career year. that strategy also failed with lebron because he crumbled at the end, something I think its safe to say kobe doesnt do

safe to say kobe doesnt? um kobe has the most misses in history! history! not to mention his “clutch” performance is horrrible!
he has a percentage of around 23% success that’s not even average he sucks in clutch and theres stats to back this up not hating.. honestly id trust Durant or even Rose over Kobe.

Please are you telling me : Shaq, Mo williams, delonte west, michael beasly, hickson, varejao and iglauskus…the had faaaar better team than miami had in 2006 and they LOST anyway…LEBRON HAS NO WINNING GENES!

michael beasly? when? what have you been drinking?
+ the competition was far greater than in 2006 when the heat Won, the C’s were weak, Orlando was weak, Bulls were weak,Hawks were weak, even Lakers were weak and Spurs were not at their best.

to Erik – Just thought I d point out that Kobe has 2000 misses less than Elvin Hayes. I’d still but the ball in Kobe’s hands at the end of the game with it on the line too. I agree that I’d put the ball in Durant and Rose’s hands before Kobe’s these days but the lakers dont have that option, so Kobe is it for them and will be until he retires.

One thing is very clear! Phil Jackson era is done so Lakers are also DONE!
Stop talking about kobe because hands down to him. He achieved so many awards and titles. But that’s the past men. Mike Brown is just the monkey in LA.

Lakers will reach the playoffs but only first round. Dallas will choke them again! 4-0 :D

OK kids! first of all im a Lakers fan, but i also try to be honest when it comes to their play. Lakers this year will not become Champions. There are by far more talented teams that have a stronger will to win games ( maybe not more than Kobe, but as a team). I also do not believe Kobe, the black mamba, is the best player in the league any longer. Kevin Durant, Lebron (Lechoke), Rose, Howard, Dirk, and some that ive accidently missed are currently better than Bryant. This does not mean that Bryant cannot light up a team with 60+ points at any given night. I would just prefer if he gave Bynum and Gasol a little more responsibility during regular season games just so they would mature as players in the playoffs. Im not a big fan of Gasol ( even though he was clearly the reason why the Lakers won back to back), but Bynum seems to have an edge over any player in the league with his size. Third, Lakers have a new offense and it will take at least another year to get used to playing. Lakers will always find a way to win guys, so watch out. And finally to the moron above me…Since when do you challenge a champion to make the playoffs? Until they are officially eliminated…they are still the CHAMPIONS!!

The reason you fools think Kobe takes too many shots is because the shots he takes seem to always be taken when other options are available. The thing is, though, when Kobe Bryant has the ball, there hardly ever is a better option, unless he’s triple teamed. When you guys see him take quick pull up mid-rangers, post up fade-aways, or even contested drives to the basket, you may think those are all bad shots…but you have to keep something in mind, Kobe Bryant KNOWS what he’s doing. He’s a 16 year vet, he’s played more games than most of the guys in the league right now, he’s a 14 time all star, he’s played in numerous playoff series, taken (miss or make) several big time shots, and practices these shots like there’s no tomorrow. These shots are not difficult for him. Those are his shots. He’s 6th in all time scoring for crying out loud. Do not doubt his decisions.